North signing by Glamorgan is blow to Cosgrove

Glamorgan have signed former Australia batsman Marcus North as their overseas player for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, replacing captain Alviro Petersen.

It will be 32-year-old North’s sixth county after spells with Durham, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Lancashire.

But now the Western Australia left-hander has failed to get an Australia contract he wants to dedicate himself to an extended spell in county cricket. He won the last of his 21 Tests caps against England in December 2010.

As well as having more than 11,000 first-class runs behind him North can also turn his hand to bowling off spin.

The recruitment of North is another blow for Mark Cosgrove, who has been overlooked as Glamorgan’s main overseas star for a second time after Petersen’s appointment last November.

North said: “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity that Glamorgan has given me to come back and play domestic cricket in the UK.

“I am looking forward to working closely with Matthew Mott and being part of the challenges and hard work that we face as a squad in bringing success back to Wales.

“After spending the best part of the last 10 summers in England, my family and I are extremely excited to experience what Wales has to offer.”

The North signing is a bid by Glamorgan to improve their results after a dismal 2011 during which they have failed to make their mark in all the three main tournaments.

“After announcing contract extensions for Gareth Rees and Mark Wallace last week, we are delighted that another piece of the jigsaw is in place, and that Marcus is arriving as our overseas player for 2012 and 2013,” said Colin Metson, the county’s managing director of cricket.

“Marcus has had an outstanding career in both international and domestic cricket and we look forward to seeing him score plenty of runs and taking wickets for Glamorgan.”